L'Oreal USA Celebrates Women in Digital

New York, April 26, 2012  L'Oreal USA is proud to announce the L'Oreal Women in Digital Program, a new initiative that will celebrate and nurture women working in technical and digital roles.  L'Oreal Women in Digital will promote the design of new and innovative technologies that will address the needs of the beauty industry with technology created by women and for women. 

"Our mission is to inspire and empower women to drive the advancement of digital technology to meet the needs of the female consumer," stated Rachel Weiss, Vice President, Digital Strategy, L'Oreal USA and Chair of L'Oreal Women in Digital.  "There is a tremendous opportunity for women to influence and create the user experience in the digital space, and no company can help foster and grow this initiative like L'Oreal."

As part of this initiative, L'Oreal will be awarding 5 "NEXT Generation Awards" to the top rising female entrepreneurs managing and leading technology-driven companies.

Final nominees and the winners will be selected from a scorecard judged by a panel of L'Oreal USA executives, Venture Capital Partners and the L'Oreal Women in Digital Board of Advisors.  Honorees will be announced and celebrated at a private invitation-only event attended by digital industry leaders, investors, L'Oreal top executives and the press.  Winners will also receive airfare, two nights' accommodations and an itinerary introducing them to investors, L'Oreal executives and strategic partners.

The entry period is open now through May 30th on www.lorealwomenindigital.com and is in partnership with the L'Oreal NEXT FUND. The NEXT fund will also be open to ongoing applications for grants for women led-technology companies to experiment with L'Oreal throughout the year.

Why L'Oreal Women in Digital Matters:

• Female students comprise 46% of Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus test-takers, but only 19% of AP Computer Science test-takers.
• Women hold 56% of all professional jobs in the U.S. workforce, but only 25% of IT jobs.
• Only 11% of executives at Fortune 500 tech companies are women.
• In 2009, just 18% of undergraduate Computing and Information Sciences degrees were awarded to women; in 1985, women earned 37% of these degrees.
• Tech companies with more women on their management teams have a 34% higher return on investment; the presence of women on technical teams increases teams' collective intelligence (problem-solving ability and creativity).

The L'Oreal NEXT Fund

The NEXT Fund stands for New Experimental Testing Fund. The NEXT Fund was established in 2011 as a separate corporate media fund that invests in the latest digital technologies, digital pilot programs, incubation programs and large-scale corporate sponsorships. L'Oreal USA will be allocating a percentage of the fund to primarily test and support female owned and co-owned companies.  Cash awards and testing opportunities can be submitted on an on-going basis at www.lorealwomenindigital.com. Potential experiments submitted through the site will be evaluated on a monthly basis.

L'Oreal USA Internal Women in Digital Program

As part of the ongoing commitment to supporting women in digital career paths at L'Oreal USA, L'Oreal will be hosting internal meetings, events, speakers and workshops for all L'Oreal USA employees. The goal of these gatherings will be to provide internal support, inspiration and mentoring for all women at L'Oreal already working or interested in working in digital and IT functions.

L'OREAL USA

L'Oreal USA, headquartered in New York City, with 2011 sales of $5 billion and 9,800 employees, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of L'Oreal SA, the world's leading beauty company. In addition to corporate headquarters in New York, L'Oreal USA has Research and Innovation, Manufacturing and Distribution facilities across six other states including New Jersey, Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio, and Texas. 

L'Oreal's impressive portfolio of brands includes Lancôme, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Yves Saint Laurent Beaute, Viktor & Rolf, Diesel, Cacharel, L'Oreal Paris, Garnier, Vichy, La Roche-Posay, L'Oreal Professionnel, Kerastase and Shu Uemura Art of Hair. The U.S. is the base for the product development, international marketing and advertising for L'Oreal's twelve American brands: Maybelline New York, Soft-Sheen.Carson, Kiehl's Since 1851, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Essie Cosmetics, Redken 5th Avenue NYC, Matrix, Mizani, Pureology, SkinCeuticals and Dermablend.  For more information on our brands visit www.lorealusa.com.

SOURCE L'Oreal